Pedestal

3 definitions found

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:

  Pedestal \Ped"es*tal\, n. [Sp. pedestal; cf. F. pi['e]destal,
     It. piedestallo; fr. L. es, pedis, foot + OHG. stal standing
     place, station, place, akin to E. stall. See {Foot}, and
     {Stall}, and {Footstall}.]
     1. (Arch.) The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp,
        or the like; the part on which an upright work stands. It


        consists of three parts, the base, the die or dado, and
        the cornice or surbase molding. See Illust. of {Column}.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Build him a pedestal, and say, "Stand there!"
                                                    --Cowper.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Hence: A short free-standing column or column-like object
        designed to support a work of art or other object; a
        column serving the same function as the base of a statue.
        It may be made of wood, marble, or other suitable
        material.
        [PJC]
  
     3. (Furniture) A part of a desk which contains a frame and
        drawers, stands on the floor, and provides support for the
        desk surface. There may be zero, one, or two such
        pedestals in a desk.
        [PJC]
  
     4.
        (a) (Railroad Cars) A casting secured to the frame of a
            truck and forming a jaw for holding a journal box.
        (b) (Mach.) A pillow block; a low housing.
        (c) (Bridge Building) An iron socket, or support, for the
            foot of a brace at the end of a truss where it rests
            on a pier.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     {Pedestal coil} (steam Heating), a group of connected
        straight pipes arranged side by side and one above
        another, -- used in a radiator.
        [1913 Webster]

From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:

  pedestal
       n 1: a support or foundation; "the base of the lamp" [syn: {base},
             {stand}]
       2: a position of great esteem (and supposed superiority); "they
          put him on a pedestal"
       3: an architectural support or base (as for a column or statue)
          [syn: {plinth}, {footstall}]

From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:

  57 Moby Thesaurus words for "pedestal":
     aggrandize, apotheosize, baluster, balustrade, banister, base,
     caryatid, colonnade, column, dado, deify, die, dignify, elevate,
     ennoble, exalt, foot, footstalk, foundation, glorify, honor,
     idolize, jack, magnify, mounting, newel-post, pedicel, peduncle,
     pier, pilaster, pile, piling, pillar, platform, plinth, pole, post,
     queen-post, raise, revere, shaft, socle, staff, stalk, stanchion,
     stand, standard, stem, subbase, sublime, substructure, support,
     surbase, trunk, upright, uproar, worship